More sales. Less time.

If you are a business owner then you are most likely familiar with the feeling of being in a tight spot and needing to bring money through the door quickly.

The question I hear most often from people is ‘how can I build up cash flow, and make more sales … quickly?' Its like the golden pill right - everyone wants the answer..

Most of us are in business to build our dreams and to change the world while sharing our vision. To do this our businesses need to be financially supporting itself (and us). This also happens to be the key reason that 86% of businesses fail in the first 12 months - it becomes no longer supportive of our life or financial requirements. Fortunately there are ways in which we can lift our gaze and drive some revenue through the door in thinking a laterally rather than going down the same garden path day in and day out.

All entrepreneurs, directors, sales managers and GM's want to shorten their sales cycles. It helps you hit your goals, allows you to bring in more revenue in any given period, and can even give you useful insights into potential inefficiencies of your sales process. In this regard, everyone’s pretty much in agreement: Shortening your sales cycle is one of the most effective things you can do to help your sales team reach new heights.

But there is much less consensus around how to accomplish this goal. In fact, it seems like every sales leader has a different approach. Some give their reps more freedom to discount. Others have their reps start closing hard on the first call. And some (especially in the tech world) work with their product team to make the buying process as automated and streamlined as possible.

While all of these tactics can be effective in certain circumstances, they are ultimately just that: tactics. If you want to have a long-lasting, scalable effect on your sales cycle, you need to attack the problem at its very core. So here are a few different strategies if you are wanting to increase your sales and bring in more cash quickly which will then allow you to better understand where the real opportunity may be for your service or product:

1. Email a time-sensitive limited offer to your database

2. Use a third party reseller with a large database of your target audience (e.g. agents, Living Social, Groupon etc).

3. Cold calling your target customers and speaking to their financial ROI rather than just your product/service (this may be an older style but it still remains effective).

4. Strategic partnership with an aligned (but not competitive) partner with a large database or following.

5. Run a campaign to grow your membership through events or campaigns such as a VIP night for members only or a complimentary webinar.

6. Develop a loyalty card system/program that has time-limited access.

7. Create flash sales or instant sales that are time sensitive.

8. Create a compelling lead magnet or pool of resources that you know your target client would love to have.

9. Run a survey and create a one time offer that spins out of it.

10. Upsell / cross-sell / ask for referrals from current clients

11. If you sell a product introduce a complimentary service, if you sell a service offer a complimentary product.

Ultimately; these are short-term strategies to help create a surge in sales in a short space of time and they still need to be a part of your overall long-term strategy and business vision. That said; a short term spike in revenue through the door might just be the necessary spark to drive some strong momentum in building out your business plan. So it's certainly well worth testing some of these strategies on your target market as the economy starts to thrive on the back of a tough start to 2020.

To your sales success.